|
Grand National Night
''Grand National Night'' is a 1953 British thriller film brought to the screen by George Minter, produced by Phil C. Samuel, and based on a play of the same title written by Campbell and Dorothy Christie. It was directed by Bob McNaught and starred Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell (Patrick's wife) with support from Michael Hordern, Noel Purcell and a cameo role from Colin Gordon. The film was shot at Walton Studios near London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Frederick Pusey. Cinematography was by Jack Asher. Previous to this film version Grand National Night had been presented as a BBC Radio serial as well as the original stage play, which was produced in 1945 and 1946. The cast of the original play was headed by Leslie Banks as Gerald Coates. Plot Racehorse trainer Gerald Coates argues with his alcoholic wife Babs on the evening after his horse has won the Grand National. She attacks him with a knife and there is a struggle with the knif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Minter
James George Minter, was a British film producer and screenwriter born in Islington, London. He established the company Renown Pictures. Few pictures seem to remain of Minter - though he is pictured at a wedding at https://theminters.co.uk/showmedia.php?mediaID=1239&medialinkID=697 Life and career James George Minter was born in England on 7 May 1911 in the inner London suburb of Islington. LIttle is now known about his early life but in 1939 he married Cecile Visco who was a clothing designer. The couple moved to the (then) more upmarket London district of Kensington. Minter had trained and qualified as an accountant - a skill which undoubtedly helped him progress in his career - during the years of World War Two (1939-1945) he worked in different capacities (very often uncredited) on the production of more and more movies. However, the 1940s movies with which he was concerned were only a prelude to his best loved work in the 1950s. By the late 1940s he had started his own distr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Rose (actor)
George Walter Rose (19 February 1920 – 5 May 1988) was an English actor and singer in theatre and film. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for roles in ''My Fair Lady'' and ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''. Early life Born in Bicester, Oxfordshire, the son of a butcher, Rose studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After graduation, he was briefly a farmer and secretary. After wartime service and studies at Oxford, he made his Old Vic stage debut in 1946. Career Rose spent four years with the Old Vic company and made his Broadway debut in a 1946 production of ''Henry IV, Part I'' and continued to play in New York City and London's West End for the remainder of the decade. He spent most of the 1950s appearing in broad comedy roles in the UK, later joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. He returned to Broadway to portray Dogberry in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in 1959. Two years later, he co-starred to much acclaim in Robert Bolt's '' A Man for All Seasons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell Waters
Russell Waters (born 10 June 1908, Glasgow, Lanarkshire – died 19 August 1982, Richmond, Surrey) was a Scottish film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then appeared in repertory theatre, at the Old Vic and in the West End. On screen Waters generally found himself playing mild mannered characters. Waters played the leading man in Richard Massingham's amusing instructional short subjects, among them ''Tell Me If It Hurts'' (1936), ''And So Work'' (1937), ''The Daily Round'' (1947) and ''What a Life!'' (1948). In feature films, Waters played secondary roles such as Craggs in '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949), Mr. West in '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'', Palmer in '' Chance of a Lifetime'' and "Wings" Cameron in ''The Wooden Horse'' (all three in 1950). In later years, Waters was briefly seen as the Harbour master in ''The Wicker Man'' (1973), and his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest Jay
Ernest Jay (18 September 1893 – 8 February 1957) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' My Lucky Star'' (1933) - Press Agent * ''Tiger Bay'' (1934) - Alf * '' The Iron Duke'' (1934) - First Orderly * '' The Phantom Light'' (1935) - Railway Worker (uncredited) * '' Checkmate'' (1935) - Huntly * '' Rhodes of Africa'' (1936) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Broken Blossoms'' (1936) - Alf * '' Men of Yesterday'' (1936) * ''The House of the Spaniard'' (1936) * '' O.H.M.S.'' (1937) - (uncredited) * ''The Song of the Road'' (1937) - Tinker * '' I See Ice'' (1938) - Theater Manager * ''Don't Take It to Heart'' (1944) - Tripp, Reporter * ''School for Secrets'' (1946) - Dr. Dainty * ''Vice Versa'' (1948) - Bowler * ''Death in the Hand'' (1948) - MacRae * ''Blanche Fury'' (1948) - Calamy * ''So Evil My Love'' (1948) - Smathers * '' The History of Mr. Polly'' (1949) - Mr. Hinks * ''Edward, My Son'' (1949) - Walter Prothin * '' Golden Arrow'' (1949) - Mr. Felton * '' The Reluctant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May Hallatt
May Hallatt (born Marie Effie Hullatt; 1 May 1876 – 20 May 1969) was an English actress, born in Scarborough. Baptised at St Michael on the Mount, Lincoln, on 13 Jan 1884 she was the daughter of William Henry Hallatt, actor, and Carrie Sydney. A number of published sources incorrectly name her as mother of the actor Neil Hallett. Career Often cast in eccentric roles, within her 30-year career, she was known for '' Painted Boats'' (1945), '' Black Narcissus'' (1947) and ''Separate Tables'' (1958). In Terence Rattigan's ''Separate Tables'', she played Miss Meacham in the original West End, Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (other) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ... productions and the film versions. Personal life and death May Hallatt died on 20 May 1969 in London, England, aged 93. Filmogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Grayden
Richard Graydon (12 May 1922 – 22 December 2014) was a British stunt performer and stunt coordinator best known for his work in the ''James Bond'' film series. Early life He was educated at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire and was an amateur jockey and a dancer. He was rejected for service in the RAF in World War II due to a childhood eye injury. Career His acting, dancing and horse-riding skills were used to good effect in the 1952 film ''The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men'', and he then developed a career as a stunt performer. His stunts for James Bond films included tobogganing down the Cresta Run in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service,'' doubling for George Lazenby, and later for Roger Moore in a cable car fight scene 1,000 ft above ground on Sugarloaf Mountain, Brazil, in '' Moonraker.'' At in height, Graydon was shorter than Moore, but it was necessary to maintain the height difference with the stuntman doubling for the Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibb McLaughlin
George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a salesman in Kingston-upon-Hull where he sang in the Holy Trinity Church choir. He joined the Hull Amateur Operatic Society and played the part of Koko in The Mikado. After that he appeared with Anne Croft in concerts and they had a turn to themselves on the stage of the Palace Theatre. He performed as a comedian and monologist in music halls. In 1915, McLaughlin married Eleanor Morton, youngest daughter of William Morton, formerly manager of the Egyptian Hall, London and the Greenwich Theatre. Film work He appeared in 118 films between 1921 and 1959. He was known for The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Oliver Twist (1948) and Hobson's Choice (1954). He had a rare leading role as the sleuth J.G. Reeder in Edgar Wallace's '' Mr Reeder in Room 13'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry MacKay (actor)
Barry MacKay (born Barry Leonard Graham Reay-Mackey; 8 January 1906 – 12 December 1985) was an English actor. He was most prominently seen in light comedic roles in the British cinema of the 1930s and is perhaps best known as Jessie Matthews' leading man in ''Evergreen'' (1934), ''Gangway'' (1937) and ''Sailing Along'' (1938). On Stage he performed at the Comedy Theatre, London, in the Green Room Rags of 2 December 1934; opposite Ann Todd in the sketch ''Every Twenty Thousand Years''. Other notable roles include Lieutenant Somerville in '' Brown on Resolution'' (1935) and as Fred, Scrooge's nephew, in MGM's film ''A Christmas Carol'' (1938), the latter being one of two films he made in the US; the other was the lead role in a B-picture, '' Smuggled Cargo'' (1939). After these films and serving in the Canadian navy during WW II, followed by stage work, there was a long gap in his film career until he reappeared as a character actor in the 1950s, making his last film (' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)
Leslie Scott Falconer Mitchell (4 October 1905 – 23 November 1985) was a British announcer who was heard on newsreel soundtracks, radio and television. He was the first voice heard on BBC Television at its inception on 2 November 1936, and also made the first announcement on Associated-Rediffusion, the first ITV company, on 22 September 1955. His voice was perhaps most recognised, however, from his long association with British Movietone News, for whose newsreels he commentated during the Second World War and for many years afterwards. Early life Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mitchell's parents separated while he was a child. He was brought up by the novelist W. J. Locke and his wife, after his own mother went to America during the early years of the First World War and was unable to return. Mitchell was educated at the King's School, Canterbury. Later, he was prevented from joining the Royal Navy by ill health, which also prevented him from serving in the Second World War. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Ann Davies
Betty Ann Davies (24 December 1910 – 14 May 1955) was a British stage and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1950s. Davies made her first stage appearance at the Palladium in a revue in 1924. The following year she joined Cochran's Young Ladies in revues such as ''One Dam Thing After Another'' and ''This Year of Grace''. Davies enjoyed a long and distinguished West End career which included ''The Good Companions'' (1934), '' Morning Star'' (1942), '' Blithe Spirit'' (1943) and '' Four Winds'' (1953). Her outstanding stage triumph was in the role of Blanche du Bois, which she took over from Vivien Leigh, in the original West End production of ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. Davies appeared in 38 films, most notably as the future Mrs Polly in '' The History of Mr. Polly'' and in the first of the St Trinian's films '' The Belles of St. Trinian's'', and was active in TV at the time of her death. She went into hospital on May 14th 1955 to have an operation for appendicitis, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over an official distance of about 4 miles and 2½ furlongs (), with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps.''British Racing and Racecourses'' () by Marion Rose Halpenny – Page 167 It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2017. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at other times of the year. The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these fences, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
